Cutter bar

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to a reciprocating cutting bar for the cutting gear of an agricultural machine, comprising a longitudinal axis ( 4 ) along which the reciprocating cutting bar may be moved in a working direction for crop cutting, a finger bar ( 1 ), cutting fingers ( 2 ), which are fixed to the finger bar ( 1 ), each forming counter cutters ( 11 ), a knife ( 5 ) with a knife bar ( 7 ), having knife blades ( 8 ) fixed to the knife bar ( 7 ) which each have cutters ( 9 ), whereby the knife ( 5 ) is made to oscillate relative to the finger bar ( 1 ) along a transverse axis ( 6 ), which is arranged horizontally and perpendicular to the longitudinal axis ( 4 ), rollers ( 13 ), by means of which the knife ( 5 ) is supported against the finger bar ( 1 ) to the rear when viewed in the working direction. The rollers ( 13 ) are each mounted to rotate on a roller holder ( 17 ) and the roller holders ( 17 ) are fixed to the finger bar ( 1 ).

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to German Patent Application No.10246867.2, filed Oct. 8, 2002, which application is herein expresslyincorporated by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a cutter bar of a cutting device of anagricultural implement.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Cutter bars include a finger bar which has a plurality of reapingfingers. A knife reciprocates relative to the finger bar. The knifeincludes a knife bar which has several blades. The blades form cuttingedges. Counter cutting edges are formed by the reaping fingers andinteract with the blades.

The blades have a generally triangular base. During the cuttingprocedure, the harvesting goods, due to the reciprocating movement ofthe knife, are pressed by the blades against the reaping fingers andcut. Accordingly, a scissor-like cutting movement is produced. Thus,each individual blade is pushed to the back, when viewed in a workingdirection, by the cutting load. Thus, a knife supporting guide, relativeto the finger bar, is necessary to hold the knife in its positionrelative to the finger bar. Such a guide is shown in DE 198 50 261 A1.Here, the cutter bar has a guide plate mounted on the finger bar. Theguide plate forms a guide face extending in the direction of themovement direction of the knife and is facing the knife. The knife issupported, when viewed in a working direction, to the rear by the knifebar on the guide face of the guide plate. While the knife barreciprocates, the guide plate is rigidly mounted on the finger bar. Theknife is pressed independent of the cutting force more or less stronglyagainst the guide plate. The cutting force can increase due to theharvesting good, which is difficult to cut, or due to dull knife blades.Thus, increased frictional forces are active between the knife bar andthe guide plate. This leads, especially with sandy andcorundum-containing soil, to a larger wear on the knife bar and on theguide plate. Furthermore, besides the driving power necessary forcutting the harvesting goods, a significant part of the driving power isnecessary for the reciprocating movement of the knife. The necessarydriving power to move the knife is often higher than the necessarydriving power for the cutting process.

In CH 148 390 the frictional force is reduced by a roller guide. Theguide plates have recesses on which the cutter bar rollers arerotational mounted. The knife is supported, when viewed in the workingdirection, to the rear on the rollers and is guided by the guide plates.However, friction is still produced between the knife and the guideplates.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is the object of the present invention to provide a cutter bar whichhas a long life. The present invention enables an adaptation of thesupport for the knife.

The present invention has a cutter bar of a cutting device of anagricultural device which defines a longitudinal axis, along which thecutter bar is movable to cut harvesting goods in a working direction.The invention has a finger bar and reaping fingers attached on thefinger bar which form, respectively, counter cutting edges. A knife hasa knife bar with blades, attached on the knife bar. The blades havecutting edges. The knife is reciprocatingly guided along an axistransverse relative to the finger bar. The transverse axis istransversally and horizontally arranged to the longitudinal axis.Rollers support the knife on the finger bar to the rear, when viewed inthe working direction. The rollers are, respectively, rotationallysupported on a roller holder. The roller holders are mounted on thefinger bar.

Accordingly, no frictional resistance between the knife and the fingerbar has to be overcome. Only the rolling resistance of the rollers hasto be overcome, which is distinctly lower. Thus, distinctly lowerdriving forces are necessary to drive the knife. Thus, smallerdimensioned drives can be used.

Due to the use of a roller holder, no specific fixing bores need to beprovided to attach the rollers. Rather, the roller holder can be adaptedto different cutter bars from different manufacturers. Furthermore, itis possible to retrofit existing cutter bars. A further advantage isthat it is possible to adjust the roller holder in its position withrespect to the finger bar.

Advantageously, the knife bar is supported on the rollers. Accordingly,no additional components are necessary, which have to be mounted on theblade of the knife bar, to ensure support. The knife can be verticallysupported on the rollers to prevent tipping of the knife with respect tothe finger bar. For this, the blades can project in the direction to thefinger bar beyond the knife bar and can be vertically supported on therollers. Thus, no further components are necessary for vertical support.

Alternatively, at least one roller includes, on its circumferentialface, a circumferentially extending first collar. The knife is supportedvertically downwards by the extending first collar.

Additionally, at least one roller includes, on its circumferential face,a circumferentially extending second collar. The knife is supportedvertically upwards by the extending second collar.

Accordingly, the knife is vertically supported. For better self-cleaningof penetrated soil material, neighbouring rollers can, alternatively, beprovided, respectively, with one first collar or one second collar.Here, one roller has only one first collar, wherein the nextneighbouring roller has only one second collar.

The rollers can be rotationally supported on the finger bar around avertically arranged rotational axis. Accordingly, the rollers can have abearing bore which extends coaxially to the rotational axis. Thus, therollers are rotationally supported on an outer face of a bearing shaftand form a sliding-type bearing. This represents an extremely low costand robust bearing arrangement. The rollers and the bearing shafts canbe manufactured from a hard-sintered material. Also, rolling memberbearings can be provided between the rollers and the correspondingbearing shafts.

The radial bearing clearance of the sliding bearing should bedimensioned relatively large so that entering dirt and moisture can beremoved from the sliding bearing. Accordingly, to enable this removal,at least one first longitudinal groove is provided in the bearing boreof the roller. Further, at least one second longitudinal groove isformed in the outer face of the bearing shaft to enable self-cleaning.Thus, due to the rotation of the rollers relative to the bearing shaft,dirt is removed from the upper faces and is transported out of thesliding bearing.

The bearing shafts can be provided sleeve-like with a central attachmentbore. Fixing screws are passed through the attachment bores to directlyattach of the bearing shaft on the finger bar. Separate screws can actas the fixing screws. The separate screws rest in separate bores of thefinger bar, as well as those screws, with which the reaping finger isattached on the finger bar. Rollers can be provided, depending on theloading, on each screw or only on some of the screws to attach a reapingfinger. Preferably, the reaping fingers and the roller holders areattached by a common fixing screw on the finger bar. In this case, theroller holders can be attached by at least one fixing screw of a reapingfinger.

The roller holders can, however, also be arranged between two reapingfingers arranged next to each other. Thus, the roller holders areattached by the fixing screws of the two reaping fingers, arranged nextto each other.

Further areas of applicability of the present invention will becomeapparent from the detailed description provided hereinafter. It shouldbe understood that the detailed description and specific examples, whileindicating the preferred embodiment of the invention, are intended forpurposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope ofthe invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will become more fully understood from thedetailed description and the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of a cutter bar witha roller attached on a roller holder;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of a second embodiment of a cutter bar;

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of the cutter bar of FIG. 2along line III-III thereof;

FIG. 4 is a top plan view of a third embodiment of a cutter bar;

FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of the cutter bar of FIG. 4along line V-V thereof;

FIG. 6 is a top plan view of a fourth embodiment of a cutter bar; and

FIG. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view of the cutter bar of FIG. 6along line VII-VII thereof.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The following description of the preferred embodiment(s) is merelyexemplary in nature and is in no way intended to limit the invention,its application, or uses.

FIG. 1 illustrates a first embodiment of a cutter bar according to theinvention. The cutter bar has a finger bar 1, attached on anagricultural implement. Reaping fingers 2 are arranged on the cutter bar1. The free ends 3 of the reaping fingers 2 point in the workingdirection of the agricultural implement and are arranged parallel to alongitudinal axis 4. A knife 5 is reciprocatingly movably guided along atransverse axis 6 relative to the finger bar 1. The transverse axis 6extends at a right angle to the longitudinal axis 4. The knife 5includes a knife bar 7 as well as several blades 8. The blades 8 aresupported on each other in the direction of the transverse axis 6. Theblades 8 form, respectively, a first cutting edge 9 and a second cuttingedge 10. The first cutting edges 9 interact, respectively, with at leastone first counter cutting edge 11 of a reaping finger 2. The secondcutting edges 10 also interact, respectively, with at least one secondcounter cutting edge 12 of the reaping finger 2. The first cutting edges9 and the first counter cutting edges 11 as well as the second cuttingedges 10 and the second counter cutting edges 12 are, respectively,arranged at an angle to each other. The cutting and counter cuttingedges form an angle, which, when viewed in the working direction, opensto the front. Therefore, during the reciprocating movement of the knife5, a cutting movement is achieved comparable to scissors. Thus, cuttingforces are produced in the direction of the longitudinal axis 4 againstthe working direction.

Rollers 13 are provided to support the cutting forces. The rollers 13are, respectively, rotationally supported around a vertically arrangedrotational axis 14. The rotational axis 14 is arranged perpendicularlyto a plane formed by the longitudinal axis 4 and the transversal axis 6.The knife bar 7 is supported at its rear on the roller 13 by a supportface 15. Thus, during the reciprocating movement of the knife 5, therollers 13 are reciprocatingly rotated around the rotational axis 14.Accordingly, only a rolling resistance has to be exceeded and not anyfrictional forces.

A roller holder 17 is mounted with an attachment portion 18 on thefinger bar 1. The fixing screws 16 attach the reaping finger 2 on thefinger bar 1. The rollers 13 are rotationally supported on a bearingportion 19 of the roller holder 17.

The reaping fingers 2 are arranged vertically below the finger bar 1.Bores are provided in the finger bar 1. The bores are aligned with abore in one of the reaping fingers 2 and a bore of the roller holder 17.A fixing screw 16 is passed through these bores. Two reaping fingers 2can be manufactured from one component due to stability reasons. Thus,the reaping fingers 2 form a U-shaped double finger.

The blades 8 are attached, via screws 20, on the knife bar 7. The blades8 are arranged vertically above the knife bar 7. The blades 8 project ina direction towards the finger bar 1 to the rear beyond the knife bar 7.The blades 8 are supported vertically downwards on the rollers 13.According to this embodiment, no further components are necessary tosupport the knife 5 on the rollers 13.

FIGS. 2 and 3 show a second embodiment of a cutter bar according to theinvention. Components, which correspond to components of the firstembodiment, are provided with reference numerals which are increased bythe numerical value 100.

Like the knife of the first embodiment, the blades 108 project in adirection toward the finger bar 101 to the rear beyond the knife bar107. The blades 108 are supported vertically downwards on the roller113. The roller 113 has a first collar 121 which vertically downwardlyabuts the blades 108.

In contrast to the first embodiment, the reaping fingers 102, 102′ aremounted vertically on the top of the finger bar 101. The roller holderis arranged between the reaping fingers 102, 102′ and the finger bar101. The roller holder is fixed by the fixing screws of two neighbouringreaping fingers 102, 102′. The roller 113 is rotationally mounted by ascrew 122 in a threaded bore 123 of the bearing portion 119 of theroller holder 117.

FIGS. 4 and 5 show a third embodiment. Components, which correspond tocomponents of the first embodiment, are provided with referencenumerals, which are increased by the numerical value 200.

Unlike the second embodiment, the roller holder 217 is formed shorterand is attached by a fixing screw 216 to one of the reaping fingers 202on the top of the reaping finger 202.

A fourth embodiment is illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7. Components, whichcorrespond to components of the first embodiment, are provided withreference numerals, which are increased by the numerical value 300.

In the fourth embodiment, the roller holders 317 are in the form ofbridges. The roller holders 317 are arranged between neighbouringreaping fingers 302, 302′, 302″. The roller holders 317 are fixed byfixing screws 316 of the neighbouring reaping fingers 302, 302′, 302″.

Furthermore, one of the rollers has a first collar 321. The blades 308are supported vertically downwards against the first collar 321. Aroller 313′, arranged next to the roller 313, has a second collar 325.The blades 308 are vertically supported upwards against the secondcollar 325. Thus, this ensures an improved guide of the knife 305.

Alternatively, all rollers can have, respectively, a first collar and asecond collar. Thus, the blades are supported vertically downwards aswell as vertically upwards on each roller. Further, the reaping fingerscan be arranged vertically below the finger bar. Also, the rollerholders can be arranged vertically below the reaping finger.

The description of the invention is merely exemplary in nature and,thus, variations that do not depart from the gist of the invention areintended to be within the scope of the invention. Such variations arenot to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of theinvention.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A cutter bar of a cutting device of an agricultural machine comprising: a longitudinal axis along which the cutter bar is movable for cutting harvesting goods in a working direction; a finger bar; reaping fingers attached on the finger bar, said reaping fingers forming counter cutting edges; a knife having a knife bar and blades attached on the knife bar, said blades having cutting edges, said knife is reciprocatingly guided along a transverse axis relative to the finger bar, said transverse axis is transversally and horizontally arranged to the longitudinal axis; rollers supporting said knife at its rear on the finger bar, the knife bar is supported on the rollers when viewed in the working direction, said rollers are, respectively, rotationally supported on a roller holder, said roller holders are mounted on the finger bar such that the roller holder is formed as a bridge between two neighboring reaping fingers.
 2. The cutter bar according to claim 1, wherein the knife is supported vertically downwards on the rollers.
 3. The cutter bar according to claim 2, wherein the blades project in the direction to the finger bar beyond the knife bar and are supported vertically on the rollers.
 4. The cutter bar according to claim 2, wherein at least one roller has, on its circumferential face, a circumferentially extending first collar, said knife is supported vertically downwards on said first collar.
 5. The cutter bar according to claim 4, wherein at least one roller has, on its circumferential face, a circumferentially extending second collar, said knife is supported vertically upwards on said second collar.
 6. The cutter bar according to claim 1, wherein the reaping fingers and the roller holders are attached by a common fixing screw on the finger bar.
 7. The cutter bar according to claim 6, wherein the roller holders are, respectively, attached by at least one fixing screw of a reaping finger.
 8. The cutter bar according to claim 6, wherein the roller holders are, respectively, arranged between two reaping fingers arranged next to each other, said roller holders are attached by fixing screws of both reaping fingers arranged next to each other.
 9. The cutter bar according to claim 2, wherein at least one roller has, on its circumferentially face, a circumferentially extending collar, said knife is supported vertically upwards on said collar. 